Chương 16: May I Be of Service?
Rylee was still groggy when Tara dumped her on Evan's doorstep. She felt disoriented as she slipped into the wheelchair, and the front door had barely opened before Tara took off. Evan awkwardly helped pull the chair inside, the interior smelling a little like pizza, giving her one hint what he ate the night before.
"I take it Zane stopped by last night?" She guessed. He nodded in confirmation.
"I think he just needed someone to hang out with. He's taking this pretty hard. Do you need anything to drink?" He offered somewhat awkwardly.
Rylee wondered when the last time was he had a girl here. That wasn't to say the apartment was dirty or anything. Other than the pizza box, the living room was tidy, with a few framed posters flanking the TV. His furniture was mismatched, but well kept, and the carpet looked like he vacuumed on a regular basis. When they entered the kitchen, there was a coffee pot and a waffle maker on the counter, and a few pop culture themed mugs hanging from the cabinet. She could imagine a much worse bachelor pad than this. She only imagine what Zane's place looked like...
"I hope you reminded him to stop blaming himself," Rylee sighed. "The only one we are angry at is the woman who ran that red light."
"I did, but it may take some time for the guilt to go away. Heck, even I feel like you got the raw end of things..." his gaze swept to her. Rylee was wearing a loose fitting sun dress, which hadn't been her first choice of outfits, but it was the only thing that didn't catch on the stitches. Her pale legs were starting to show different colored bruises, splotches of purple and green, from the crash. When she looked at herself this morning, she was amazed by the number of tiny cuts she kept finding. Even with the worst injuries covered by her clothing she knew she looked bad.
Feeling his eyes, Rylee looked back, feeling more bold than she had in awhile. His attention felt like an invitation to return the appraisal. His arm was tucked in the sling, covering most of his skin, but there were a few small cuts along the right side of his face. She forced herself to turn away before she could stare too long at the one on the corner of his mouth...
When she turned, she spotted something on the table, and her eyebrows shot up in surprise. "Hey! That's my hat!"
"This?" He walked over and picked up the ball-cap with a bewildered look. "It got left at the park the other day and I was trying to get Zane to look for the owner." He handed it over with an amused expression. Rylee examined the buttons, relieved to see everything was there.
He watched her, noting the adornments. "So you're a fan of more than just Poker Monsters I take it?"
Rylee gave a sheepish shrug. "I've always been a bit of a nerd. That's why Zane and I got along so well." She pointed at his mugs with a smile. "But you seem to have similar interests. I'm surprised it took so long for us to meet."
"Zane has tried to introduce us a few times, I think. I'm just not as social as him," Evan admitted. "Plus, work has gotten busier lately. I have to force myself to focus to get things done by their due dates."
Rylee remembered why she had come, "Yeah, about that. Tara said I might be able to help? I'm not a professional, like you, but I can't imagine drawing without my dominate hand."
He gave a one shouldered shrug, "I'm willing to give it a shot." He took control of the chair and steered her into the office. It was clearly a place where he spent most of his time, and it was organized with supplies, the focal point his large desk.
Evan brought the monitor to life with a wiggle of the mouse, revealing the digital canvas he had ready. She could tell he attempted to rough something out on his own, but the line art was shaky and uneven. Putting her hat on, she motioned for him to step aside, then gingerly maneuvered herself into the chair.
"Let's see what we can do with this," she picked up his pen, letting the familiarity comfort her.
Opening a new layer, she set to work. It was easily to trace what he had done, using the pen where needed, and switching to the mouse for more uniform areas. Evan watched at first, before stepping back and letting her do her thing. She had expected him to hover like a protective mother, but the gesture showed he actually trusted her.
But why? They had known each other for little over a day at this point. The mutual friendship linked them, for all intents and purposes, they were still strangers. She couldn't imagine trusting someone with her artwork, knowing one wrong move could destroy everything. She was naturally a control freak, though, and was always reluctant to let things go. Everything she gathered about Evan told her he was different.
It took most of the morning for her to finish the line work, and then Evan talked her through the color scheme. She followed his instructions, and even when she got it wrong, he didn't get frustrated or annoyed. There was a natural calm around him as he patiently sent her in the right direction. By lunch, the project was done.
"So what was this for anyway?" She asked, zooming out to look at the finished canvas. Rylee could have sworn she had seen this character before...
"My Power Patron account. I have my comic on there, but one of the backer rewards is excluding bonus art," he explained.
Rylee dropped the pen, "Wait, comic... you draw Twisted Tales?!" She put a hand to her mouth, trying not to gawk. Oh sweet cup of noodles, she just volunteered to help with one of the top web comics....
"Err, yeah. Sorry, I don't like to brag about it. To me it's just a job now. I don't like to drag my Internet life into my day to day business." He explained.
Rylee was still mortified. "Evan, you can't let me do this! Your fans, won't they get upset? Oh hell, your fans," the word made her mouth dry. She maneuvered into the wheelchair, needing a drink after all.
"Do you need a hand?" He asked, but she waved him off.
"I can do it. Just thirsty all of a sudden."
"Okay. You can help yourself to anything in the fridge," he offered, but let her have some space. While he didn't have a girlfriend, he had a sister, and had long ago learned that sometimes you just had to stay out of the way.
Instead of following, he sat in the open chair and looked over what she had done. There were a few areas he had to change but that was more to reflect a cohesive style than a statement toward her abilities. She mimicked his shading style artfully, and clearly had good control over the tablet. All it took was a watermark and he was set to upload the finished draft.
Thinking about Rylee's comment, he put a note for his followers.
'Hey everyone! Thanks for being such great supporters. Unfortunately, I have good and bad news today.
'The bad news is, I injured my arm yesterday and it could take some time to heal. The good news is I have a friend willing to help with the comic updates. Because your input means so much, I feel inclined to ask your opinion.
The latest work was a team effort, to show the capabilities of my assistant. If you would like the comic to continue as planned, cast your vote to let us know you approve. If you'd rather wait for me to heal and continue the comic solo, feel free to give your feedback. I wouldn't be here without you, so thanks for your time!'
Feeling satisfied with the wording, he posted it, before deciding to see where Rylee had taken off to.
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